- IDGVV Press Releases
Vietnamese search engine Socbay.com closes latest funding round
Naiscorp Information Technology, developer of the Vietnamese search engine Socbay, has secured Series B venture capital funding led by SoftBank China & India’s Bodhi Fund. IDG Venture Vietnam also participated in the funding round, though the amount raised was not disclosed. Naiscorp intends to use the funding to drive the development and growth of the Socbay Vietnamese language search engine Socbay.com.
Naiscorp counts VDC, a Vietnamese telecommunications company, among its strategic partners and recently saw the integration of its search engine into the Vietnam government’s website.
William Bao Bean, partner of SoftBank China & India Holdings, said, ‘The internet market in Vietnam is burgeoning and dynamic in spite of the economic environment. We are confident that Socbay has a differentiated search offering developed to take into account the characteristics of the Vietnamese language, which we believe will position the company well as the market develops.’
Nguyen Bao Hoang, managing general partner, IDG Ventures Vietnam, added, ‘SoftBank’s investment is a great milestone for the company in its continuing development of the SocBay.com search service. We look forward to working together with SoftBank to support the company’s growth and new technologies. The company is positioned to be a market leader as the online advertising and search market continues to grow over the coming years.’
SoftBank China & India Holdings (SBCI) is a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank and manager of Bodhi Investments, which focuses on early stage and selected pre-IPO opportunities in China, India and Southeast Asia. Key areas of investment include the internet, software, telecom value-added services, converged media, entertainment and other industries leveraging technology such as consumer-oriented services, healthcare and financial services. SoftBank and Cisco Systems Inc., are the main strategic investors in the Bodhi Fund.
Founded in 2004, IDG Ventures Vietnam (IDGVV) has $100m under management. The firm invests primarily in privately-held, early to middle stage technology, media, and telecom companies in Vietnam and Southeast Asia; portfolio companies include VinaGame, VinaPay, iSphere, Goldsun Focus Media, Vega, VCcorp, Peacesoft, MSS, and YeuAmNhac.
Dated: March 24, 2009
Source: AltAssets